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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25317331">Birthday Bonefriend (Sans/Male Reader)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ComicalFont/pseuds/ComicalFont'>ComicalFont</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Birthday, Birthday Party, Birthday Presents, Comedy, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Mario Kart, Mario Kart References, Minor Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Open for Comments, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Protag - Freeform, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:55:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,952</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25317331</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ComicalFont/pseuds/ComicalFont</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Sans' birthday! On top of that, you, his boyfriend and soul bond, get to enjoy the day with him for the first time. Alongside his brother, you plan to make Sans' day the most enjoyable it can possibly be. There is one nagging worry you can't shake off, though. Some of Sans' closest long-term friends have been invited to the house, and it'll be the first time they've seen you and him together. What'll they think about someone that caused Sans to shift from his single lifestyle to a deep relationship, and in less than a year's time?</p><p>(Part of the A Skeleton's Connection story series. This can be read first, too!)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sans (Undertale)/Reader, Sans (undertale)/male reader, Sans/Male Reader, Sans/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>54</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Rise and Dine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Greetings! Thank you for taking the time to check out my story. This is in the same realm of stories as my A Skeleton's Connection work, a Sans and Male Reader novel. This story doesn't require the novel to be understood, though. Read them in any order you'd like! (Your name goes wherever ‘Protag’ is written.)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Birthday Bonefriend (Sans/Male Reader)</strong> </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Chapter 1 – Rise and Dine</strong> </span>
</p><p> </p><p>“H-hrm… ‘morning, hun.”</p><p>Your internal clock kicks into gear, on a late morning in the bone brothers’ house. With this being the Underground, there’s no extra light outside to get you moving, but given how many retail shifts you’ve worked, it’s become second nature. Unlike most nights, though, where you’re crashing back at your apartment, this morning is a lot more special. The sleeping face next to yours is that of Sans, your best friend, bonefriend, and soul bond. Usually, you only get to stay with him for weekends, but today’s a really important occasion.</p><p>“…hrm… five more mins, bro…”</p><p>Geez, he’s tired enough to think you’re his brother. Guess your sleep patterns and his don’t completely match up.</p><p>“Heheh, Sans, it ain’t Papyrus, it’s me. Happy birthday, buddyo.” His left eye socket opens up, and once he gets a look at your face, his tired smile lightens up plenty more.</p><p>“…oh. heh, almost forgot you’re here. you musta been like a cloud, the way you were holding me.”</p><p>“I… *yawn*… do my best.” Drawing out a long yawn, you rub your eyes… and when you open them up again, you see that Sans is nowhere to be found.</p><p>“…Sans? Hun? Where’d you go?” You shake your head a bit to see if your mind’s playing tricks on you, but it’s to no avail. He simply isn’t where he was five seconds ago. Sluggishly, you turn around to see if he’s quietly heading out the door.</p><p><em>Bop!</em> Your new view comes with a free pillow smack to the face. Fortunately, the ones you’ve got for your new bed are really soft.</p><p>“…Sans, how did you-”</p><p>“protag, i’ve zipped you all the way to the surface before. ya didn’t think i’d make a shortcut right where i go to snooze?”</p><p>“But, you know how to snooze anywhere, on any surface, Sans.”</p><p>“exactly.” Laughing, he hops onto the other side of the bed, his lighter frame letting him fit. You can’t help but laugh as well from his dubious little trick, and give him a smooch on the mouth as his prize for fooling you. He returns the favor, and the two of you share a passionate dose of affection before he sinks himself back down onto the mattress.</p><p>“Look at you, birthday boy. Usually you’re supposed to be getting surprises, not dealing them out.”</p><p>“hey, you did say it was my b-day, and my rules. don’t tell me i gotta print out a two hundred page paper on the laws of birthday for you to read.”</p><p>“Oh, geez, please don’t. That’d be the worst reverse-gift ever.”</p><p>“heh, no worries. you bein’ right here is a pretty darn good first gift already.”</p><p>“Dawww, c’mere, you.” You pull Sans in for a tight embrace, and feel another buzz from the magic energy that’s lived in your body since your soul bond with him. It’s already been three quick months since. With this soul bond in place, you’ve got hundreds of happy, healthy years ahead with Sans, without any worries of out-aging him. The magic energy you live with now is a really nice treat as well. It’s always there, but being in close contact with him like this gives it a lovely flare.</p><p>You can’t stay hugging like this all day, though. There’s a breakfast for him that you’ve gotta go help wrap up!</p><p>“Here, why don’t you keep snoozing for a bit? There may or may not be something for you to chow down on soon.”</p><p>“looking forward to it already. here, before ya go, i’ve gotta right a wrong.” He hands you the pillow that he drilled your face with a minute ago.</p><p>“ya get a free shot. don’t wanna be thinking i’ve got one up on ya all day. that’d be real crummy, and we haven’t even gotten to the cake yet.”</p><p>“Pfff, if you insist.” You pull back the pillow, but in doing so, you get the most adorkable look at his face. The muscles in your arm immediately tense up. There’s no way you could hit something like that hard.</p><p>“…Ack, I’m sorry. I don’t know if I can do it.”</p><p>“c’mon, sure you can. just think of whatever jokes i spat out last night, that’ll totally getcha to do it.” You try to, but your love of puns just makes that trail of thoughts hurt the case for pillow-hitting him even more. Pulling your arms down, the ‘hit’ is more like dropping the pillow than anything else. It doesn’t even fall off his face.</p><p>“good enough for me. go do whatever the heck ya wanted to do, hun.”</p><p>“O-okay. Love you!”</p><p>“love ya.” Immediately, Sans goes back to sleeping, and you quietly pull out of the bed. Not wanting to waste any time, you pull out of the room with your sleepwear still on.</p><p>You’re so lucky to have someone like him in your life. It’s been over seven months of knowing each other, and it’s been nothing but friendship and love. Neither of you have argued a single word to the other; that’s a way of living you’d both hate, so you simply never choose to. It’s that easy. Whenever you get the chance to be together away from your work, you both live up every minute of it, and pretty soon, you’ll get to move in! Your apartment lease will end, and Sans’ room will become your room, too. Every time you think of that, your heart gets a hearty flutter.</p><p>Along with knowing Sans himself, you couldn’t be more appreciative of how passively the society you’re in accepts your bond with another dude. If you were still living on the surface, you can’t say for sure that being this close with another guy would be so warmly accepted by your peers. Here, though, that couldn’t be more different. Not only do people completely accept your relationship with Sans, but they see it at exactly the same level as any other bond, as it should be. There isn’t a single ounce of heteronormativity down in the Underground, letting you feel completely free with your love for the skeleton.</p><p>There is one nagging worry you’ve had in your head as of late, though. Today’s going to be the first time you’ll be seeing a bunch of Sans’ longtime friends. You and Papyrus have organized a little party at the house with them, since Sans said he just wanted something simple for the day. Nothing’s better for a simple day than time with buds, after all. The last time they were all at his birthday, you weren’t in the picture at all, and now, you’re his boyfriend.</p><p>Given how quickly you’d seen judging happen on the surface when people bring along a special someone that the rest of their group doesn’t approve of, you’re really hoping the same doesn’t happen here. You’ve never forced Sans to do a single thing, and always have complete agreement on whatever you decide to mess around with for the day, so the last thing you’d want is for the others to think you make him do things he doesn’t want to. With this being monster society, your thoughts are better than they’d be on the surface, but there still is that nagging bit of anxiety.</p><p>You’ll do your best to keep it waiting, though. Walking by the kitchen, you see Rocko, donning dark purple sprinkles over their ‘head’ to eat. That kind of sprinkles is only used for special occasions, so you’re glad to see they've been treated well for it. On the calendar above them, ‘SANS’ BIRTHDAY’ has been written by Papyrus on the May 28 square with a big, bright red marker. You can tell how much it means to him.</p><p>“GOOD MORNING, PROTAG! READY TO MAKE SANS’ DAY THE BEST IT CAN BE?”</p><p>“Heck yeah, I am! First birthday of many that I get to spend with you two. I’ll make sure to do plenty for yours next month, too!”</p><p>“THAT’S VERY KIND OF YOU TO SAY, BUT ONE SKELETON AT A TIME. SANS’ BREAKFAST AWAITS!” Papyrus has already gotten a lot of the work done; rather than the typical spaghetti, he’s put together a great pancake recipe that you’d discovered when you first moved down to the Underground. It’s something you’ve made for yourself plenty of weekends, as a reward for getting through the work week, and you’re sure Sans will enjoy the taste, too. He’s already got the batter mostly finished, so in the meantime, you get to cutting up the fruits, as planned. Papyrus dealt with climbing the ladder to wash them already; someday soon, once you’ve made the move here, you’ll learn how to safely use it, but today’s too risky of a day to try that.</p><p>“REMEMBER, ONCE THE BATTER’S READY TO BE BAKED, YOU CAN MAKE ANY PATTERN YOU WANT WITH THE FRUIT! I WON’T JUDGE.”</p><p>“Even if I made it exactly like the dog that likes to snag your bone collection?”</p><p>“OKAY, MAYBE I’D JUDGE A LITTLE. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.”</p><p>“Pfff, don’t worry. My ideas shouldn’t make anyone <em>shed</em> tears of fear.” Papyrus groans a little, but pats your shoulder at the same time.</p><p>“SANS SURE IS LUCKY TO HAVE YOU AS A BOYFRIEND. SOMEHOW, YOUR JOKES GET EVEN STRONGER TOGETHER.”</p><p>“Dawww, really?” You grab a knife and start cutting the strawberries in halves.</p><p>“YES, REALLY! HE’S ALWAYS BEEN A MASTER OF HIS CRAFT, BUT WITH YOU BEING HIS MOTIVATION, HE’S REACHED AN EVEN HIGHER PEAK.”</p><p>“Wow… when I met him, I thought he’d hit perfection already. Guess he’s redefined what that means.” The strawberries are looking pretty good, and it helps that they’re already naturally shaped like a bit of a heart after being cut like this.</p><p>“THE SCARIEST PART IS THAT IT’S ONLY HIS FIRST BIRTHDAY WITH YOU. IMAGINE WHERE HE’LL BE BY THE HUNDREDTH.” He shudders a bit.</p><p>“Can’t promise anything, but I’ll do my best to still femur out new ones by then.”</p><p>“OH, I’M SURE YOU WILL. HE’S BEEN RUNNING WILD WITH THEM HIS WHOLE LIFE. ANYHOO, THE BATTER’S READY! DECORATE TO YOUR HEART’S CONTENT.” Cautiously, Papyrus dips into the batter and spreads perfectly even circles onto the pan. Not wasting any time, you get to decorating them. With the strawberries, blueberries, and chocolate chips at hand, you do your best to put faces and hearts together. If any of them were big enough, you’d find out a way to spell out a joke, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.</p><p>“OOOOH, THAT LOOKS GREAT! I ESPECIALLY LIKE THE ONE OF OUR HOUSE. VERY AESTHETIC, VERY YOU, AND VERY SANS, BY PROXY.”</p><p>“Pfff, thanks, pal.” The walls of the house are sort of a mess of chocolate chips on it, but that’ll mean more gooey goodness for Sans to enjoy in a bit. You save the biggest one for last, and get a little creative with it. Working with what you have, you take some of the blueberries to make outlines of your soul, and his. Neither of yours are made of a blueberry shell, but it’ll get the job done. At least to you, the two upside down heart shapes look cute together, and you’re confident that he’ll think the same way.</p><p>“NOW, GO GET MY BROTHER UP FOR THE START OF HIS FUN! WITHOUT ONE OF US, THE FIRST HALF OF HIS BIRTHDAY COULD JUST BE SLEEPING, AND THAT’S TIME HE WON’T GET BACK.”</p><p>“No worries, I can get him outta there. Thanks a bunch for trying out the recipe, I’m sure he’s gonna love it.”</p><p>“AND THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING THE RECIPE, AND MAKING THOSE CUTE SOULS OF YOURS! NO RECIPE CAN TEACH THAT. IF THEY COULD, THEN YOU’D HAVE FIGURED OUT YOUR WHOLE SOUL SITUATION A LONG TIME AGO.”</p><p>“Alas, I never saw it in any of those cookbooks in my research. Catch ya soon!” Leaving Papyrus to the finishing touches of his work, you swing back up the stairs, and quietly open the door, trying to not let the light from the rest of the house in while doing so. Sans is still completely invested in his sleep, with the sheets all curled up around him like a burrito.</p><p>“…Gosh, that’s <em>my</em> little snack…” You quietly whisper sweet thoughts about your bonefriend to yourself, before sneaking up to the bed. You’d just bought the bed frame with Sans last week; once the move happens, you’ll be cuddled up with Sans each and every night on this bed, so the two of you wanted to add a bedframe to the mattress. Your back will thank you for it.</p><p>“Saaaaaaaaaaans, it’s breakfast time!” You excitedly say it above his face, and his eye sockets start stirring.</p><p>“…oh, heya, protag. where’s breakfast? i can’t reach it.” He pulls his arms out of the burrito and starts grabbing at the air. What he said doesn’t make much sense, but the sight of him like this is the purest thing you’ve seen since… well… the last time you saw him. You wrap your arms around the blankets he’s cuddled under, getting such a nice feeling from them being over his bones.</p><p>“Sorry, bud, breakfast is all the way downstairs. I get to enjoy this nice breakfast burrito first, though.”</p><p>“spicy enough for you?” Sans’ ability to suddenly pun when he’s tired always gets to you. It's enough to make you let go, with your cheeks all warmed up now, before you shake your head and get back into gear.</p><p>“…Yes. Anyway, your brother and I got a real nice treat waiting for ya downstairs. Want a lift?”</p><p>“as long as a ride goes with it. i dunno if lifting me and putting me right back down would do much.”</p><p>“Oh, you know what I mean.” Reaching into the burrito, you pull the skeletal filling out, as Sans now looks up at you from your arms’ grasp.</p><p>“this is nice.”</p><p>“It is. Only the best for your special day, bud.” You deal out a smooch to his forehead, getting him all blushed up, too, as you tap the door open with your foot and head downstairs. You can hear some plates being set on the kitchen table; that was some perfect timing.</p><p>“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR BROTHER!” Setting the final plate down on the table, Papyrus comes over and uses Sans’ vulnerability to give him a little rub on the shoulder.</p><p>“thanks, bro. always glad to have ya here for magicked-into-the-universe day.”</p><p>“Magicked-into-the-universe Day?”</p><p>“i’ll tell ya sometime soon.”</p><p>“GOOD IDEA. THAT’S TOO LONG OF A STORY, THE PANCAKES WOULD BE COLD BY THE END OF IT.” ‘Pancakes’ especially gets Sans’ attention, as he lifts his head up from your arms.</p><p>“so, that smell’s why i was dreaming about maple syrup.”</p><p>“PRECISELY! YOU DESERVE A WONDERFUL BREAKFAST FOR YOUR SPECIAL DAY, AND NOTHING SAYS WONDERFUL QUITE LIKE A GOOD PANCAKE.”</p><p>“thanks, pan-pyrus.”</p><p>“AAAAAND THERE IT IS. YOUR BONEBARDMENT OF JOKES CLEARLY DOESN’T REST FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY. THAT IS A GOOD ONE, THOUGH.” You’ve heard that one before; it’s casual, fun wordplay about Papyrus’ romantic identity. There’s no harsh meaning of it, of course; Sans is gay, after all. They just have fun ribbing each other about who they like.</p><p>Setting him down onto his bare feet, Sans wanders over to the couch and cautiously pulls out a hoodie that he said he’d been saving for today. It looks exactly like all the others. Once that’s taken care of, he wanders towards the door to choose the right shade of pink for his slippers for the day, and with that, he’s got all of his comfort clothes on.</p><p>“alrighty, pancake punishment time.” Taking his hand, you walk over to the table together, and sit down at two of the chairs that Papyrus has pulled out. In the middle of the table, there’s a big, steaming plate of all the pancakes you and the younger skeleton had made. A pitcher of orange juice rests by it, rounding out a perfect, simple meal to start the day.</p><p>“You get first dibs on whichever ones you want!”</p><p>“hmmm, lessee here… you two still must be hiding art degrees from me, with how fluffy and well decorated these thingamabobbers are.” There’s nine large, soft pancakes to choose from, and Sans snags his three first. He takes the one with Rocko, recreated with chocolate chips, as well as the house. When he gets to the souls pancake, though, he stops for a moment. With how Sans’ pupils shrink a bit upon seeing it, it must be hitting really close to home for him. He starts speaking in a softer tone than during his jokes earlier.</p><p>“…hun? ya wanna split this one? it’s too cute for me to wanna hog it all.”</p><p>“Nah, it’s all yours. You’re the one that got my soul to look like that, you more than deserve a pancake to commemorate it.”</p><p>“alright, if you say so. don’t forget how oiled up ya got my shoulders from that, too.” Sans has told you how he never even noticed how much tension his shoulders used to have, now that it’s all gone.</p><p>“Don’t worry, I won’t. Papyrus, it’s go-time.” In a brief moment of competition, the two of you go for whichever pancakes you want the most. There’s one with a replication of one of Papyrus’ action figures that you probably could’ve reached with your fork first, but you know how much he’d like it, so you let him grab it first. When the dust settles, you all have your pancakes, and you take it upon yourself to pour everyone their orange juice.</p><p>“CHOW TIME! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SANS.” The three of you all rapidly dig into your pancakes. Taking your first bite, you know that Papyrus was faithful to the recipe; it tastes just like how you’d make them at your apartment. With how thick they are, there’s a big, spongy texture to each mouthful. You can tell from the smiles around you that both of the brothers are enjoying the taste as much as you are. Picking them was the time to enjoy the designs, but now, getting that flavor down is far more important.</p><p>What you don’t realize until a couple minutes in is just how fast you’re eating the pancakes. Yours are already halfway finished, and the same can be said for the other two. Even with Sans’ mouth not opening when he eats, the pancakes are sliding in as fast as you’re chewing and swallowing. Cooking and baking’s weird like that; you spend all this time making something that’s gone right away. In complete silence, you all feast away at your breakfast, until every last crumb and drop of orange juice are gone. Sans lets out a huge burp, and pats where his stomach would be, if he had one.</p><p>“that was great. five pancakes out of five, would pancake again.”</p><p>“Same here, you did a great job with that recipe, Papyrus.”</p><p>“HONORED TO GET TO USE THE SAME RECIPE AS YOU! IT MIGHT BE OUT OF WHAT I NORMALLY MAKE, BUT I PRIDE MYSELF FOR ADAPTING.”</p><p>“like adapting to this?” Reaching under the plate, Sans pulls out a rogue strawberry slice and flicks it. It lands right into Papyrus’ mouth, and rather than trying to question something while food’s in his mouth, he chews and swallows it.</p><p>“H-how… I swear, I never left any on the table.”</p><p>“or did you?” Sans winks, and provides no further insight. All you can come up with is that his pranking through time and space struck again.</p><p>“…I’D SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THAT, BUT THAT STRAWBERRY WAS RATHER GOOD. I’M GLAD WE ALWAYS GO ORGANIC WITH THEM. ANYWAYS, I’LL TAKE CARE OF ALL YOUR DISHES!” Somehow taking every plate and glass in one go while keeping his balance on the ladder, Papyrus climbs up to wash them, leaving you and Sans on your own at the table.</p><p>“What do you wanna do now? Gifts are later, we don’t wanna blow through all the plans too soon.”</p><p>“aww, you didn’t hafta get anything for me. you know i’m happy with what i’ve got.”</p><p>“Oh, I know, but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve even more. Besides, how could I <em>not</em> give things to a face like yours?” You take his right cheek and gently pinch at it. How you managed to hold off confessing to Sans for four months after meeting him is hard to comprehend.</p><p>“heheh, thanks. guess the gift-giver being so darn cute makes it easier to ask for stuff, too.” Sans brings his hand up to his chin, in thought for what the three of you could do to fill the time, before his grin perks up.</p><p>“wanna get your butts kicked in mario kart?” Papyrus hears that, and slides his way down the ladder.</p><p>“SANS, THAT’S A VERY BOLD REQUEST FOR YOU TO MAKE. YOU REALLY WANT TO SPEND YOUR BIRTHDAY MORNING LOSING AT MARIO KART OVER AND OVER?”</p><p>“You’re both wrong. The guest is gonna beat you two each and every time. Clearly, that’s the worst thing that could happen.”</p><p>“not when i beat ya each time.”</p><p>“NOT IF I DO THAT FIRST!” Papyrus bolts to the TV to get the old Wii hooked up. You’d been thinking of more things in the house that you and the bone brothers could enjoy together, and there’s plenty on your Wii that’ll do the trick, Mario Kart being one of them.</p><p>“AS TEMPTING AS IT IS TO GIVE YOU THE WRONG CONTROLLERS, I’LL ABIDE TO YOUR WISHES.” Opening a drawer, Papyrus pulls out a Wii Remote in a wheel, as well as two GameCube controllers. You and Sans find it a lot easier to control with the GameCube setup, but either from his very impressive driving ability, or other secrets he won’t share, Papyrus likes the Wii wheel far more. He plugs everything in, boots the system up, and slides the disc in. The three of you all share a glare into each other’s eyes or eye sockets, as if it’s a classic Western film.</p><p>“you two have no idea what you’re getting into.”</p><p>“Maybe not, but I sure know what you’re getting onto.”</p><p>“hmm? what’s that?”</p><p>“My lap.”</p><p>“you know it.” Sitting down on the couch, you let Sans hop up and sit his nearly weightless frame on your lap. With your head rested on his shoulder, you’re good to go. You’d thought up this position when you were watching a Mettaton Movie some time ago, and you haven’t strayed from it much since.</p><p>“YOU TWO MIGHT BE COZY, BUT I’LL HAVE THE BEST ARM FLEXIBILITY! I’LL PROVE TO YOU TWO THAT THE WHEEL’S SUPREME.”</p><p>“no, thanks. ours is way better. you could easily use one-a these things in a cube-icle.”</p><p>“I- NEVERMIND. LET’S GET ON WITH IT!” Papyrus selects the game in the menu, and after some dice rolling to figure out where you’re going to go, the race begins.</p><p>You’ve never been a part of such an intense game of Mario Kart until now. The three of you play in near silence, which is unusual, given the ways the two of them talk. Items like the blue shell become both your most trusted ally, and your worst enemy. With how brutal it can be both ways, you feel like you could write an essay on how great they are, immediately followed by how they’re the bane of everyone’s existence.</p><p>Through quick maneuvers and smart item use, the three of you are still neck-in-vertebrae after three hours of playtime. Taking a look at your watch, you look over at Papyrus and silently nod your head, which he follows up by doing the same. You’ve got some preparations to do, so karting can’t last much longer.</p><p>“WELL, SANS, THIS WILL HAVE TO BE OUR FINAL TOURNAMENT!”</p><p>“why’s that?”</p><p>“YOU’LL FIND OUT SOON ENOUGH. I COULD EXPLAIN NOW, BUT IT MEANS YOU’D HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION TO ME, WHILE I RACE AHEAD! NYEH HEH!”</p><p>“oh, that ain’t happening, bro. it’s on.”</p><p>“If it’s on, then I’m gonna make it… oner.”</p><p>“well, i’ll be honest with you, hun, i’m gonna make it onest.”</p><p>“YOU TWO ARE WEIRD!”</p><p>“Yes, we’re totally weird.” The three of you easily agree to finish the tournament with the Special Cup. You win the first round, Papyrus wins the second, and Sans wins the third. It leaves Rainbow Road as the race that all the marbles are on.</p><p>“IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS! THE BATTLE TO SEE WHETHER THE WII OR GAMECUBE CONTROLLERS ARE TRULY THE BEST.”</p><p>“ya mean which person <em>with</em> the controller’s the best. protag, i love ya, but that trophy’s mine.”</p><p>“I love you too, but it’s one birthday gift I wanna snag myself.” Giving Sans a little shove on the shoulder, you look back at the screen, as the fateful final track loads up. Sans is using a kart, while Papyrus is driving a bike. You think in your head of how they’ll each handle the wobbly track of Rainbow Road, with its lack of barriers, as the race begins.</p><p>Most of it is as tight as the past three hours have been. You’re all taking quick looks at each other’s hands and sides of the screen, trying to see if any openings come up, but they’re few and far between. Three hours of this together have taught you all of each other’s tricks. The final lap approaches, and the three of you have left all the CPUs in the dust. Unless another terrifying blue shell comes in from behind, you’ve got the open road to yourselves.</p><p>Sans and Papyrus’ natural ability at this starts to kick in, though. There’s a few tight turns that they get just a bit closer than you do, setting you back some precious slight distance. Soon, you’re rounding the final corner, and it looks like the winner’s going to be one of the other two. There’s no more chances for you to try to catch up.</p><p>In a split moment, though, a huge choice falls onto your hands. The three of you drive through the final row of question mark boxes, and you and Papyrus each get a red shell! Sans is slightly ahead, so if Papyrus chucks it, it’s all over. He’ll have a clear shot at the finish line.</p><p>There’s no time to waste. Your chances of winning might be gone, but you have the chance to bring your boyfriend to victory on his special day. With a quick button flick, you launch your red shell, and it hits Papyrus’ loose bike before he can chuck his own red shell. With no more risks behind him, Sans cruises past the finish line. He’s won the Special Cup, and, by proxy, the controller challenge.</p><p>“WOW! CONGRATULATIONS, SANS. YOU OUTMANEUVERED ME IN THE END. I MIGHT ALWAYS SUPPORT THIS WII WHEEL, BUT YOUR SKILL REALLY CAME OUT ON TOP TODAY.” He sits up from the couch and makes a bow to his brother. Sans bows back, but doesn’t make the effort to sit up from the couch. You’re always glad to see them this pleased with each other, no matter how tense a competition can get.</p><p>“AND NOW, THIS BRINGS US TO YOUR FIRST GIFT!” Reaching into the chestpiece of his battle body, Papyrus pulls out a little slip of paper.</p><p>“what’s this for? protag’s the only one with a nose, if anyone needs a tissue, it’s him.”</p><p>“JUST READ THE THING!” Sans looks it over, and his pupils light up the same way the pancakes got them to.</p><p>“…<em>any</em> controller?”</p><p>“YUP! ANY GAMECUBE CONTROLLER FROM THE NEW RETRO STORE YOU WANT, NO MATTER HOW SIMPLE OR FANCY.” A retro game store recently opened in New Home, and Papyrus got him a coupon to go there. Apparently, this is his ‘prize’ for winning.</p><p>“WHY DON’T YOU GO GET ONE NOW? THE CONTROLLER OF YOUR DREAMS COULD BE GONE IF YOU WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW. BESIDES, PROTAG AND I HAVE TO GRIEVE FROM OUR LOSS FOR A BIT.”</p><p>“if ya say so. catch you two real soon. been a great day so far.” Sans disappears in the blue light you’ve grown familiar with, making you, Papyrus, and Rocko the only people in the house now.</p><p>“…Sorry if the red shell seemed deliberate. He had the chance to win on his birthday, and bonefriend protection instinct kicked in, I guess.”</p><p>“OH, IT’S NO WORRIES AT ALL! IT GAVE ME AN EASIER REASON TO GIVE MY BROTHER HIS COUPON, AND NOW I HAVE EVEN MORE REASON TO CONTINUE TO TRAIN. THAT WILL BE ANOTHER DAY, THOUGH! WE’VE GOT A PARTY TO PREPARE FOR!”</p><p>He’s right; the guests will start arriving in about fifteen minutes, and Sans will be here soon after. The food has all been prepared already, and is waiting out in the shed, so all you’ll have to do is get the tables ready.</p><p>It’s only now, when you don’t have Sans’ hand to hold, that the weight of what you’re getting into really hits.</p><p>What the heck <em>are</em> the others all going to think of you? The Sans that all of his friends have known for the longest time used to keep things at home more often than he does now, with the little trips you and him make. He’s even dressed differently, for once, and it was for your sake. All of these changes make it easy to think that they aren’t going to be happy with what they see.</p><p>That perception couldn’t be farther from the truth; your lifestyle and Sans’ are very much in the same vein, or lack of veins. You’re not expecting anyone else to know exactly what your daily doings together are like, but you haven’t done anything to pull him out of where he’s at peace; rather, he seems more at peace, knowing someone with the same set of values. With how different things could look from an outside perspective, though, you’ve got no clue how it’ll be received, or if they could try to do something to intervene. If they’ve been close buds with him for a long time, they must care for him a ton, so it could all be bothering them a lot…</p><p>This is a lot harder than you thought it was going to be.</p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A Layered Afternoon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The morning of Sans' birthday went great! You got to wake up by his side, make pancakes to devour with him and Papyrus, and had a long game of Mario Kart with the two of them. As soon as he left to get a new controller to leave you to your decorating, though, the lingering nerves from earlier kicked in harder. The guests are gonna be here soon, and you're not exactly looking like you're chiseled out of marble. What on (or in) earth are they going to think of you?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Chapter 2 – A Layered Afternoon</strong> </span>
</p><p> </p><p>“…Papyrus, is it cool if I go take care of some stuff for a few minutes before I help out?”</p><p>“CERTAINLY! I DON’T THINK CARRYING BALLOONS IS A TWO PERSON JOB, ANYWAY.” Thanking the younger skeleton, you take the chance to rush upstairs to the bathroom, just ahead of Sans’ room. A look in the mirror makes the nerves sink deeper.</p><p>What’re they gonna think of something like this? The party’s in half an hour, and you haven’t even gotten dressed yet. The Mario Kart action sure wasn’t something to stop for any reason, but who knows what kind of smell could be carrying over from wearing this all night, and into the afternoon today? Showering was never exactly in the plans. There’s some scruff over your face that you haven’t taken the time to get rid of, either. Sans likes messing with it before the two of you pass out together, so you hadn’t seen any reason to get rid of it before, but there’s nowhere near enough time to get it out of the picture now. If you rushed it, your face would just become a bloody stump, and the guests sure wouldn’t like that at all…</p><p><em>Breathe</em>. You tell yourself to do nothing at the moment but breathe. Entering panic mode isn’t going to get you anywhere, and it’s Sans’ birthday, no less. He doesn’t deserve to get worried about how you’re doing on a day like this. Taking another look into the mirror, you think of what you can do right now, and what you can’t.</p><p>You can’t deal with the facial hair, or any possible smell. There’s no time to devote to those, so there’s no reason to give them more worry. What you can do, however, is throw a new outfit on, and contribute to the preparations the best you can. If the guests hear that you were instrumental in making the day happen, it could be a solid first impression. Only three of Sans’ friends were invited, so there’s not much of a chance of your work getting lost in the crowd.</p><p>Uh oh, it’s probably been a couple of minutes already. Clearing up your thoughts was the right call, but you don’t want to leave Papyrus waiting all that long. Stepping out of the bathroom, you take a look downstairs, and see Papyrus carrying the balloons in that he’d been leaving in the shed.</p><p>“I’ll be down there in, like… three minutes! Sorry for the wait, I wanna look clean enough for his friends.”</p><p>“TAKE ALL THE TIME YOU NEED! I’VE GOT TO TAKE A COUPLE MINUTES TO BE A BALLOON VISIONARY, ANYWAY.” Staring at the wall with the TV with one eye socket closed, Papyrus starts dramatically moving his arms around, apparently trying to picture <em>exactly</em> how the balloons should look. It should be enough time to get ready, you think to yourself, as you slip into Sans’ room.</p><p>Zipping open the bag you’d brought, you ditch the cozies with an Oreo pattern on them that Sans had surprised you with a month ago, and throw on some jeans and a modest, single-color tee instead. It’s simple, but practical; in case eating later gets nuts, you weren’t going to bring an outfit that holds much sentimental value. Feeling a little fresher already, you head back downstairs, managing to be back in the time you promised.</p><p>Something’s very different in the room than when you’d left it, though. In the time you were getting dressed, Papyrus put his entire balloon vision into action, as there’s now rows of balloons stretching across the entire TV wall in extravagant waves. There has to be at least fifty set up.</p><p>“H-how did you-”</p><p>“I WASN’T LYING ABOUT BEING A BALLOON VISIONARY! I’VE HELD THAT TITLE FOR FIVE WHOLE MINUTES. NOTHING SAID YOU HAVE TO WAIT LONGER TO TELL YOUR PEERS.”</p><p>“Well, you sure as heck can back up your words, it looks amazing! He’s gonna love it so much.”</p><p>“WHY, THANK YOU. WE DON’T HAVE ALL AFTERNOON TO STARE AT BALLS OF HELIUM, THOUGH. BACK TO THE SHED!” He steps out of the house, and you follow him out and into the faithful shed for the first time. You can see what Sans meant by it being more worn out than chicken crossing the road jokes; there’s cracks over the walls, a duplicate bone that used to be in Papyrus’ bone collection, and a draft for the ‘gate’ near his old sentry station.</p><p>“MY APOLOGIES FOR THIS NOT BEING VERY SPICK AND SPAN. I NEVER SAW A NEED TO RENOVATE THE SHED. YOU USUALLY DON’T INVITE GUESTS TO A SHED, AND MY BROTHER AND I DON’T PLAN ON TAKING ANYONE HOSTAGE ANYTIME SOON.”</p><p>“Pfffff, you don’t seem like the kinds of skeletons to bone-d someone into a chair and ask questions.”</p><p>“WHY DIDN’T YOU MAKE SANS LISTEN TO THAT ONE INSTEAD?”</p><p>“Sorry, bud. Warmups, I guess.” Laughing a bit to yourself, you grab one of the folding tables while Papyrus takes the other, and you bring them inside to set them up. Along the way, you take a good look at the holiday lights that’ve always been strung up on the house. The Underground doesn’t even share the same traditional holidays that the surface does, so you figure they can work to commemorate Sans being a year older, too.</p><p>With the ‘FEASTING TABLE’ prepared, you head back and grab the covered platters of food, being very cautious in carrying them out of the shed. You know what’s inside, and it’s something Sans will love to the moon and back. There’s no way you’d let something happen to them, and while an errant throw from a nearby snowball fight nearly makes a nightmare happen, you’re able to get them into the house with no problems.</p><p>“I CAN GO COLLECT THE CHAIRS, PROTAG! IN THE MEANTIME, COULD YOU GET THE PARTY HATS OUT OF THE CLOSET? I’M TRUSTING YOU WITH THE IMPORTANT TASK OF DECIDING WHERE EVERYONE WILL SIT. CAN YOU HANDLE THE HONOR?”</p><p>“I’ll handle this honor with upmost responsibility and dignity, sir.” You at least <em>think</em> he was pretending to be that serious about it. He gives a salute, before disappearing back to the shed. Not wanting to waste any time, you step over to the closet and pull out the six hats, before spreading them out on the table.</p><p>They remind you of the New Year’s hats you got to enjoy nearly five months ago; each one has its own vibrant pattern, with a name written on it. On the top of the stack, the ones with your name, ‘Sans’, and ‘Papyrus’ on them are there, as expected. The rest of the hats, though, prove to be a sudden reminder of who you’re going to be seeing.</p><p>‘Undyne’ is written across a hat, in bright, red letters over a fish scale pattern. You’d heard about Undyne numerous times in conversation ever since you met the skeleton brothers, and she seems like quite the intimidating gal. Not uncomfortable to be around, Papyrus has assured you many times that she’s great company, just… intimidating.</p><p>Next to her hat is one with ‘Alphys’ spelled over a pattern of painted circuit boards.<em> That</em> sure isn’t something you’ve seen before for party decor. You haven’t heard quite as much about her as her wife, aside from the fantastic work that she’d done on Papyrus’ tile puzzle, as well as the vacuum that cleaned up the accident with the couch hoodies. Those are alone are enough to prove that she has a brilliant mind, so between that and Undyne’s strength, they sure don’t seem like a couple for anyone to mess with.</p><p>What has you most concerned, though, is the final hat, which has no name written on it at all. There’s a bunch of snails painted over it, but nothing else. Papyrus had told you beforehand that Undyne and Alphys were invited, but he’s insisted that this third guest will be ‘A SURPRISE YOU’RE SURE TO NEVER FORGET’. You appreciate him wanting to build the excitement, but with your nerves being scattered as is, it’s not helping them much, and seeing the ominous hat doesn’t make it any easier.</p><p>It’s only now that you realize Papyrus was being completely serious about how important the seating is. Where the heck <em>do</em> you put all of these? Undyne and Alphys should go next to each other, of course, but should a first-time guest be close to you, or farther away? The same goes for the blank hat; with no clue what kind of person they are, it beats you as to how far it should be from you. Would Sans want to be on one of the end seats, if it means his brother’s not sitting exactly next to him? Would putting his hat right next to yours imply to the guests that you’re trying to control his attention?</p><p>It’s too much to come up with a clear answer, so you toss a hat towards each chair without paying attention to what they say. Counting yourself, at least one half of the crowd shouldn’t care all that much, so you cross your fingers that the other half will feel the same.</p><p>There isn’t anything else you can think of doing at the moment, and even if there was something, you wouldn’t be in the best state of mind for it. Giving Rocko a pat in hope of some form of comfort, you head back to the couch and plop down. It’s a good thing you didn’t sit on the controller that was left behind, or that could be all sorts of pain before the guests arrive. Just after you sink into the cushions, though, Papyrus returns with the chairs hanging from his arms. Having nothing but bone for limbs has plenty of advantages.</p><p>“HERE WE ARE! I SEE YOU TOOK LOTS OF CARE IN YOUR HAT PLACING, PROTAG. SMART OF YOU TO PLACE SANS’ HAT AND OUR SURPRISE GUEST ON OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE TABLE. THEY’LL SURELY HAVE PLENTY OF CATCHING UP TO DO.”</p><p>“…Huh? Oh, oh, right. Heh, yeah, I put lots of thought into it. This plan of mine should surely work.” You don’t have it in your gut to tell him you didn’t settle on a plan at all.</p><p>“I HOPE YOU LIKE BEACH CHAIRS, PROTAG. THIS IS THE BEST THING WE HAVE FOR YOUR SIZE, AND WE’RE NOT USING THE REGULAR DINNER CHAIRS. WHERE’S THE FUN IN CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY WITH THE SAME THING YOU USE ALL THE TIME? THAT JUST MAKES IT… A DAY.”</p><p>“Yeah, those can be saved for the dull days. Doubt it’s ever a dull day here, though, with you two around.”</p><p>“WE TRY NOT TO! A DULL DAY FEELS LIKE WRITING A PAPER WITH A DULL PENCIL. IT’S EVERY KIND OF WRONG.” Papyrus sets the chairs up, and while most of them are nothing all that remarkable, what surprises you is just how big the chair for the surprise guest is. It looks like it could easily sit someone that’s… seven feet tall? Seven and a half feet tall? Either way, it means the guest is someone way bigger than yourself.</p><p>“WHAT DO YOU THINK, PROTAG? SANS MAY BE MY BROTHER, BUT HE’S YOUR BOYFRIEND. TOGETHER, WE MAKE A FULL UNDERSANSING, AS HE’D PROBABLY PUT IT.”</p><p>“Woah, you made a pun from Sans’ kind of field.”</p><p>“ONLY TODAY. DON’T EXPECT AN ENCORE TOMORROW. ANYWAYS, HAVE ANY THOUGHTS?”</p><p>“I-it’s great! He’s gonna think it’s fantastic!” The lack of happiness in your voice is starting to show.</p><p>“SOMETHING DOESN’T SOUND RIGHT. USUALLY, YOU’D BE JITTERING WITH EXCITEMENT BY NOW. DID I NOT PUT UP ENOUGH BALLOONS? FIFTY-ONE WOULD BE PRETTY FITTING FOR HIS SPACE INTERESTS, I CAN TRY TO FIND ONE AROUND!” Yep. Too late.</p><p>“N-no, it’s okay! He’s not gonna mind, there’s plenty of balloons for him to enjoy already! It’s all perfect, don’t change a thing.”</p><p>“…I CAN’T DO THAT. YOUR VOICE TELLS ME SOMETHING MUST BE DIFFERENT. IF I DON’T ACT ON THAT, IT’LL BE A WHOLE YEAR OF WONDERING WHAT COULD’VE BEEN DONE DIFFERENTLY!” This is going about as poorly as you’d been worrying it could get. Papyrus worked his hips off, he shouldn’t have to be thinking about this.</p><p>“No, please don’t change anything, it’s all fine, it’s, it’s…”</p><p>You have to let out what’s bothering you. It’s going to eat away inside if you don’t talk about it, and if there’s anyone you’d trust the most with knowing your nerves, it’s him.</p><p>“…It’s me. It’s all me. Papyrus, do we have any time before they arrive?” He pulls his phone out of the hip… piece of his battle body.</p><p>“FIVE MINUTES. IS THERE SOMETHING BOTHERING YOU?”</p><p>“Yeah. I think talking about it would really help, as long as you’re cool with stopping any final prep you had in mind.”</p><p>“OF COURSE I AM. MY FRIEND’S ALL WORRIED, AND HE DESERVES TO HAVE FUN THROUGH THE BIRTHDAY SHENANIGANS. A COMFORTABLE PAL’S WORTH FAR MORE THAN A STRAY BALLOON. TELL ME ANYTHING YOU WANT.”</p><p>“Thanks, bud.” Papyrus joins you on the couch, and takes the time to pull the controller off the couch. If anyone you invited sat on it, you don’t know if you could live it down.</p><p>“SO, WHAT’S NOT FEELING LIKE A PARTY POPPER? SANS’ BIRTHDAY MEANS PLENTY TO BOTH OF US. IF SOMETHING’S STOPPING YOU FROM THAT, IT MUST BE BRINGING PLENTY OF TROUBLE.”</p><p>“It… it is. Papyrus, has Sans ever had a big change in demeanor, and did the people around him get all worried?”</p><p>“ALL I CAN THINK OF IS WHEN WE LOST OUR FATHER, BUT THAT SORT OF RESPONSE WAS COMPLETELY EXPECTED. EVERYONE GAVE HIM THE TIME TO GET BETTER HE NEEDED.” You’re surprised that he’s that up front about it.</p><p>“O-oh. Sorry to make you think about that, I don’t want to send you down the bad thought train, too.”</p><p>“IT’S NO WORRIES. HE’D WANT ME TO USE HIS EXPERIENCES IN CONVERSATION, ANYWAY. ASIDE FROM THAT, THOUGH, NO, I CAN’T THINK OF ANYTHING. HE’S BEEN A MASTER OF HIS JOKES, FOOD, AND NAPS AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER.”</p><p>It means you don’t have any past experiences of his to learn from, but at least that’s been cleared up right away. You go on to tell Papyrus about all the nerves you have for the guests arriving, and what they’ll think of the two of you together.</p><p>“I’m so scared they’ll think I’m making him into someone he’s not. You’ve known these people a long time, and they’ve always seen Sans as a single sacrum. If they see all the extra chatter he’s gotten into since him and I got real close, do you think they could think I’m being all controlling? I, I… I really don’t know what to do.” You’re not sure what else to say, but before you can try to think something else up, Papyrus places a hand on your knee.</p><p>“PROTAG, YOU’RE FAR FROM THE ONLY PERSON TO THINK ABOUT THIS SORT OF STUFF. HOW DO YOU THINK I GET WHEN I HAVE NEW CLIENTS AT MY WORK?” That sure wasn’t what you were expecting.</p><p>“B-but you’re a professional. You communicate with these people better than anyone else could.”</p><p>“OH, I TRUST MY TRAINING. THE STUDIES I LEARNED SOME OF MY SKILLSET FROM WERE FROM PEOPLE WITH SO MANY LETTERS AFTER THEIR NAME FROM THEIR DEGREES THAT YOU COULD MAKE A CROSSWORD PUZZLE OUT OF THEM.”</p><p>“Doubt there’d be many vowels.”</p><p>“YOU KNOW MY BROTHER. HE’D FIGURE SOME SILLY ACRONYMS OUT. THAT’S BESIDE THE POINT, THOUGH. WHEN I GET SOMEONE NEW, I WONDER WHAT THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILY WILL THINK ABOUT THEIR NEW HABITS. THEY COULD START BELIEVING MY CLIENT’S BECOMING A COMPLETE HEALTH NUT, AS FAR AS I KNOW.”</p><p>“That… makes plenty of sense. Each person’s different, I get how that could keep being a worry. How’ve you been able to work past it?”</p><p>“BY CONTINUING TO BE MYSELF! IT CAN BE HARD AT FIRST TO PULL THEM OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONE, BUT THE MORE I SEE THEM IMPROVE, THE MORE I CAN SEE HOW IT’LL BE A WELCOME CHANGE FOR THEIR PEERS TO SEE. IT’S LIKE FERMENTING WINE, RATHER THAN MOLDING CHEESE.”</p><p>“Good point. Blue cheese does mold pretty well, but… but…” You’re still too cluttered to finish a cheesy joke.</p><p>“IT’S OKAY, PROTAG. IT MIGHT BE MY BROTHER’S BIRTHDAY, BUT HE’LL GLADLY FILL IN FOR YOUR JOKES, IF NEED BE.” He pats your knee again.</p><p>“SO, THAT’S HOW I WORK THROUGH IT EACH AND EVERY TIME. THE CLIENT GETS BETTER, AND I CAN SEE HOW IT LIGHTS THEM UP INSIDE. BY PROXY, AS LONG AS THE PEOPLE THEY KNOW ARE KIND ENOUGH, THEY’LL SEE THAT CHANGE, AND BE HAPPY WITH THEM! AND THE FRIENDS DIDN’T EVEN HAVE TO PAY A DIME TO EARN DE FACTO HAPPINESS FROM MY WORK!” The visual of a network of smiles coming from Papyrus to everyone he affects helps you smile for the first time in a bit.</p><p>“THAT’S EXACTLY HOW THE GUESTS WILL SEE YOU, TOO. SANS HAS HAD A CHANGE, BUT IT’S A CHANGE THAT MEANS HE’S DOING MORE OUT AND ABOUT WITH SOMEONE HE CARES FOR SO DEEPLY! YOU’RE NOT DOING ANYTHING THAT COULD MAKE THEM THINK YOU’RE NOT GOOD FOR HIS WELL-BEING. IF YOUR BOND WITH HIM COULD GET A RATING LIKE HOW PEOPLE RATE ME, IT WOULD BE FIVE STARS! NO QUESTIONS ASKED.”</p><p>“Hey, you better be getting nothing but five star reviews yourself. If anyone gives something lower, they sure aren’t giving your work the appreciation it deserves.”</p><p>“I DO MY BEST. EVEN THE STINGIEST HUMAN CAN USUALLY AGREE WITH ME AFTER ONE POINT OR ANOTHER. THIS ISN’T A WORKOUT SESSION, THOUGH, MY GOAL’S GETTING YOU TO SOME MORE PEACE OF MIND. HAS THAT BEEN HELPING?”</p><p>“Yeah, I think it has. You trust all the guests to like me, even the mystery one?”</p><p>“YES! ESPECIALLY THE MYSTERY ONE. THE TWO OF YOU SHOULD SHARE SOMETHING VERY NICE IN COMMON.”</p><p>“Heh, maybe I was overdoing it a bit earlier. You wouldn’t invite anyone rude.”</p><p>“NO, NO, YOUR NERVES ARE TOTALLY NORMAL! YOU MIGHT BE HAVING A DECENT DOSE OF JITTERS, BUT I ASSURE YOU IT MEANS NOTHING WRONG. IF ANYTHING, IT SHOWS YOU CARE! DO YOU THINK A CLIENT WOULD BE HAPPY WITH ME IF I WASN’T SHOWING ANY CONCERN OVER HOW THEY’LL DO?”</p><p>“Not very, I imagine. Thanks a bunch for this, I… I needed to let that out, and I trust what you say.”</p><p>“NO PROBLEM AT ALL! WOULD A HUG BE A GOOD PRE-DESSERT BEFORE THE ACTUAL DESSERT LATER?”</p><p>“Heck yeah, it would.” Papyrus’ long arms wrap around you, and you let your chin rest on his shoulder. If living with both the bone bros means more of these, it’s a feeling you can definitely get used to. While letting go of the hug, you hear a very modest knocking from the other side of the door; three, all in perfect succession.</p><p>“AHA! THAT MUST BE THE SURPRISE GUEST. IT’S COMPLETELY LIKE HER TO BE THE EARLIEST TO ARRIVE.” ‘Her’. It only eliminates just under half of the world’s population, but it’s still something. With an eager strut, Papyrus strides towards the door, and open it smoothly.</p><p>“GREETINGS, MISS TORIEL! THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT, DESPITE ALL OF THAT GRATING SCHOOL GRADING.”</p><p>“Ah, it is no problem at all. The kids did very well on their final tests. I was very proud of them, and it meant I could easily make it today.”</p><p>Toriel? Could this be… no, you tell yourself not to jump to any conclusions too soon. Maybe Toriel’s a common name in the Underground. Besides, you can’t even see who it is from the couch. Your guess might be completely off the mark.</p><p>“PLEASE, COME INSIDE!” Papyrus gestures this ‘Toriel’ in in the sort of grandiose way only he could, as she enters the house.</p><p>…..Yep. It’s her. The same Toriel who was once<strong> the queen of monsterkind</strong> is standing in the same house as you.</p><p>“This looks excellent, Papyrus! I am sure your brother is going to love this. Where may he be right now?”</p><p>“OH, HE’S OFF BUYING A NEW CONTROLLER FOR OUR GAME SYSTEM. HE PREVAILED IN A LITTLE GAMING CONTEST BETWEEN HIM, ME, AND THE BOYFRIEND. STARING AT PLASTIC CONTROLLERS SHOULD KEEP HIM AWAY LONG ENOUGH.”</p><p>“Very clever. You know he will be there a while, he will want to get one you like the look of, too. Is the boyfriend still here?”</p><p>“YEP! RIGHT OVER THERE ON THE COUCH.” You’d been planning out what to say to someone of this much prestige, but sure didn’t think you’d have mere seconds to figure it out. Instinct tells you to frantically pull yourself off of the couch and straighten out any wrinkles your shirt could have.</p><p>“You must be Sans’ boyfriend and soul bond. Meeting you is a pleasure. He deserves someone kind in his life, and Papyrus has done nothing but rave about you. That alone is a good sign.”</p><p>Wait… soul bond… Toriel’s library! It was Toriel’s library of books that helped resolve your dilemma! Your searching for an answer of what your life’s longevity with Sans would be had led you to Toriel’s collection of books in the ruins. That’s where you learned that with enough care for each other, a monster soul can get a human soul to last as long as itself. In all your nerves, you’d nearly forgotten, but now it’s clear as day.</p><p>“Oh my gosh! Miss Toriel! Ma’am! Your books taught me how soul bonds work! They saved me from being stuck in worry forever, and got Sans and I to have all this time ahead, and, and…”</p><p>You’re getting ahead of yourself. Stopping and clearing your throat, you take in a deep breath and reach a hand out for a handshake instead.</p><p>“…My apologies, Miss Toriel. I didn’t mean to be so startling. The knowledge your books gave me is something that Sans and I will always benefit from, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”</p><p>“Ah, the title is not needed. Toriel is perfectly fine, we are all friends here. I am relieved that my library had such a great use. The two of you deserve to have your souls live life to the best they can.” Reaching out her own hands, she takes yours for a handshake.</p><p><em>Pffffffffflrlrlrlrlrlrt</em>.</p><p>“What in the-”</p><p>“Ahaha, that sure was not what I was thinking would happen! I had planned to give Sans a taste of his own medicine. Seems like you were the one to get a taste instead.”</p><p>“DON’T FRET, MISS TORIEL, PROTAG’S GOT PLENTY OF TASTES OF SANS’ MEDICINE. HE CAN DEAL WITH ANOTHER DOSE.”</p><p>You’re not so sure you can right now. The former queen of monsters, of all people, just pulled the whoopee cushion trick on you. This truly is the best society in the world, without a single doubt.</p><p>“Are you okay, Protag? My trick has gotten you silent.”</p><p>“…Y-yeah, everything’s fine, Mi- Toriel. I can see what you mean by us all being friends here. Only a friend would know how to do something that devious.”</p><p>“Oh, look at you, flattering me. No wonder Sans is always so happy.”</p><p>“YOU TWO MAKE SMALL TALK! THE OTHER TWO SHOULD BE HERE ANY MINUTE NOW.” Small talk with royalty. That sure isn’t something you thought you’d be doing today.</p><p>“Erm… Think you’d like to know that I left the book exactly where I left it, and it’s only been shared by word of mouth. I’m not throwing it onto the Undernet or anything, you’ve got my word.”</p><p>“Pleased to hear. If the knowledge got out of that library, who knows how it could get twisted up? Those who really do care about their monster companions will take the time to explore, much like you did.”</p><p>“Exactly. I’m so relieved that you kept them all here, instead of taking them away. Without that knowledge, I wouldn’t be able to say right now that you’re totally invited to the hundredth birthday him and I have together.”</p><p>“I will be honored to be there, Protag. You have the love and compassion that I have seen in the monsters I have ruled, and your soul bond shows that. I am confident each of those birthdays will be a great time for you two.” You’re about to go on, but you suddenly hear a much more vicious knocking at the door, without an ounce of the elegance that Toriel had.</p><p>“OKAY, THE SMALL TALK CAN BE KEPT SMALL. THEY’RE HERE!” With the mystery guest being someone you’re getting along with this well, you’re not as nervous about the others as you were earlier. It doesn’t make that pounding any less aggressive, though. Papyrus opens the door, but Undyne apparently wasn’t knocking, because a blue fist sticks past the opening. If Papyrus’ skull had been any closer, the party might’ve taken an unexpected direction.</p><p>“Hey, Papyrus! You chose a great outfit today!” It’s the same thing he always wears.</p><p>“WHY, THANK YOU! YOU TWO MADE SOME GREAT CHOICES AS WELL. COME INSIDE!” Undyne and Alphys enter the fray, and with your anxieties slipping, it’s a lot easier to recollect what you’ve known about the two.</p><p>You’d heard from Sans and Papyrus plenty about how Undyne used to be the head of the Royal Guard, and how after moving to the surface, she used that level of energy and strength to become a professional wrestler. She competes all around the world with major promotion All Elite Wrestling, taking on both the male and female rosters, with the kind of strength she has. Pictures don’t do the size of her fish lady muscles justice. For her outfit, she’s wearing a casual black tank top and some jeans, relieving you that your guests aren’t outdressing you.</p><p>Alphys proudly stands by her side. She isn’t nearly as tall as her significant other, but the beaming smile of hers is strong in itself. Her position as the Royal Scientist in the Underground is one she was able to find easier application for on the surface, and she now works in a science conglomerate that focuses on curing diseases. Between Undyne’s strength, Alphys’ knowledge, and the inspiration that each of them provide in their own ways, they sure aren’t a couple to mess with.</p><p>She’s donning a long t-shirt of some anime you don’t recognize. It must be nice being able to throw one thing on, and have it be your whole outfit. Undyne’s the first one to speak up once they’ve come in.</p><p>“Oh, wait! Papyrus! You lost the bet! He’s wearing a light colored shirt! Were you hoping I’d forget?!”</p><p>“WHY DID I MAKE A BET OUT OF THAT?”</p><p>“You two were betting on what I’d wear?” It’s too late to get a reply. Undyne quickly puts Papyrus into a skull lock and deals him some noogies, which is apparently what the bet was for. Thinking better about getting involved, Alphys comes over to you and Toriel instead.</p><p>“Erm… hello! Protag’s the name, right?”</p><p>“Yep! You must be Dr. Alphys. Thank you so much for the hoodie vacuum, it really got us out of a <em>stringy</em> situation.”</p><p>“Y-YES, I HAVE TO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THAT, DR. ALPHYS. WE’D PROBABLY STILL BE FINDING THEM IF YOU HADN’T G-GIVEN US THA, AH, AH, NOT SO AGGRESSIVE, UNDYNE!!”</p><p>“Hey, you were real serious about making that bet happen! I’ve gotta return the favor!”</p><p>“B-BUT PROTAG’S HERE! CAN’T THIS TAKE A RAIN CHECK?”</p><p>“Depends! Hey, Sans’ boyfriend! Do you wanna see me keep noogieing Papyrus? It’s a gift I’ll gladly keep giving!”</p><p>“Hmm… I’d say yes, but I wouldn’t get to hear all about your great wrestling! That’s something I’d love to know more about.”</p><p>“Fine, fine! I’ll be soft on your boyfriend’s brother.” She lets go of the noogie, and gives a pat on the spot she worked over.</p><p>“…THANK YOU, PROTAG. SHE NEARLY RUBBED MY WHOLE SKULL OFF. THAT’D BE A TERRIBLE GIFT FOR SANS TO COME HOME TO.”</p><p>“Good point. I’d have a lotta explaining to do for <em>that</em> sort of freak show. Anyways, um, hello, Protag. You’re Sans’ lucky someone, huh?”</p><p>“Couldn’t be luckier. His company gets me gushing every time he’s around.” Alphys chips in.</p><p>“That sounds so sweet! You two are gonna be so cute together… eheheh…” She blushes up and looks away for a moment.</p><p>“No shame in looking forward to that. How do ya think I feel seeing him after a long week?”</p><p>“G-good point. Sure is how I feel when she gets back from one of her shows.” Undyne’s shows! Your thoughts on gushing over Sans almost made you forget.</p><p>“So, the wrestling life! Sounds like a wild way to live.”</p><p>“Oh, it sure is! Going from city to city each week, getting crowds to go nuts over our moves. I really needed something like that to keep me moving after the move out of here. Losing the Royal Guard left a title belt-shaped hole in my goals.”</p><p>“Pfff, poetic. I’ve watched some of your matches, the strength of you and your opponents always impresses me.” Again, Alphys excitedly speaks up.</p><p>“As well as the flash of it! Our late night binge-watching has taught her a thing or two about using muscle with style.”</p><p>“She’s right! I sure learn a thing or two from those spin kicks we watch.” There’s a detail you remember from watching the most recent episode a few days ago.</p><p>“You’ve got a pay-per-view main event in a couple weeks, right?”</p><p>“Yep! Gonna pry the world title out of that slimy cheater’s cold hands.”</p><p>“And we’re gonna use the money from the show to go on a mountain trekking trip! We’ll hike for miles and miles. My legs might fall off by the end of it, but for my champ here, I totally would.” After all you’ve heard of these two, you’re really glad they’ve got such a happy bond together.</p><p>“Well, best of luck at it! We’ll definitely order the show. It’ll be a blast, seeing you suplex his title reign out of existence.” You want to make sure you ask Alphys about her job, too, before Sans returns.</p><p>“How’s your job on the surface been, Dr. Alphys? I’ve heard about the position you have, you’ve got all the respect in the world from me for the kinds of solutions you’re striving to reach.”</p><p>“O-oh, just Alphys is fine! The doctor part’s f-flattering, but it’s no worry. You’re all chill people here.” The lack of wanting a title before their names is consistent with them. Something about Papyrus’ charm must make it fine for him to bypass that.</p><p>“Yes, though, the job’s going great. My coworkers all treat me well, which is a good thing. Making a scene near a bunch of dangerous chemicals wouldn’t be the best thing.”</p><p>“And I’d be there to make even <strong>more</strong> of a scene, so they better not think about it.” The thought of Undyne suplexing scientists in a lab springs to mind, and it’s both spectacular and terrifying.</p><p>“I’m sure you’d look stunning doing that, Undyne, but it might end a little rough. We’re working on an instant cure for irritable bowel syndrome, landing in a spill of that stuff could <em>give</em> it to you, or something nutso like that.”</p><p>“If someone’s treating you rough, I’ll take my chances!”</p><p>“SORRY TO BREAK INTO YOUR STORY ABOUT BREAKING THINGS, BUT SANS JUST TEXTED ME! HE’S CHOSEN HIS CONTROLLER, AND HE’LL BE HERE IN A MINUTE!” Your excitement bursts out from hearing the news.</p><p>“Yay! Does he know to show up outside the house? He might zap in next to one of our hiding spots.”</p><p>“HE KNOWS. I TOLD HIM TO CHECK HIS MAILBOX, IN CASE ANY CARDS ARRIVED. THAT SHOULD TAKE A LOT OF SHUFFLING AROUND.”</p><p>“Just what I’d expect from a genius.”</p><p>“NYEH HEH, THANK YOU! TO YOUR POSITIONS, EVERYONE!” Papyrus had come up with a plan some time ago for where everyone would hide. You join him in hiding in the bone collection with the cabinet doors shut, but you’re not sure where everyone else is gonna go. Before the door shuts, though, you get a look at Toriel hiding behind the couch, and Undyne… throwing Alphys up into the sink, before shutting herself in the oven. Her creativity apparently goes farther than just her wrestling moves.</p><p>“I CAN HEAR HIS FOOTSTEPS! EVERYONE, KEEP QUIET!” No one can see each other, so you assume they all gave a thumbs up. The faint, yet familiar sound of Sans’ slippers treading greets your ears, and gets your heart racing a bit, thinking of the surprised smile he’s about to have. The door knob turns, and a good look at his wonderful face follows. No time to waste!</p><p>“Surpriiiii-” Okay, maybe you could’ve wasted a little time. You’re so excited to surprise Sans that you come out of the cabinet too fast, and fall right on your face. Fortunately, the rest of the party takes care of it for you.</p><p>“SURPRISE!!!” All you’re seeing right now is the floor, but hearing the rest of the crowd’s excitement is still nice. Just a few seconds later, though, you’re being lifted up by the hands of the birthday boy himself.</p><p>“woah, bud, no breaking your face on my birthday. that’s totally against the rules.” You’ve been silent from the shame of falling over, and the smooch he leaveson where your forehead hit the floor gets you even more stifled. Once he can tell you’re not about to bleed out, he turns around towards the others.</p><p>“aww, y’all came together to scream at me?”</p><p>“We sure did!” Undyne climbs out of the oven, and reaches her hands up for Alphys to jump out of the sink. She lands right into her arms, and gets flustered up herself. You love that you get to be a part of all this.</p><p>“all this hiding and death-defying jumps for a bunch-o bones like myself?”</p><p>“OF COURSE! IT’S YOUR SPECIAL DAY, SANS. THIS IS US MAKING IT THE MOST SPECIAL IT CAN BE!”</p><p>“gee, uh… i dunno what to even say. you’re really <em>controlling</em> my emotions here.” He picks up the controller he bought at the game store.</p><p>“SANS, MORE OF THOSE, AND YOU MIGHT FIND YOURSELF AT A VERY EMPTY… NO, NOT TODAY. I SAID TODAY’S YOUR SPECIAL DAY. BE AS RELENTLESS AS YOU WANT.” Rather than quip back at that, Sans pulls Papyrus the rest of the way out of the cabinet into a hug.</p><p>“thanks, bro.”</p><p>“N-NO PROBLEM??” The others all laugh from the wholesomely confusing scene, before Toriel speaks up.</p><p>“Care for something to eat, Sans? It smells like your brother and boyfriend put something really special together.”</p><p>“aww, shucks, you two. that controller searching got me pretty hungry. i’m down for chowing down.” He lets go of the hug, and makes his way to the table, with everyone in tow. With how your hat flinging landed, Sans got a seat at the end of the table with you next to him, and Undyne and Alphys are next to each other on the other side, so it worked out well enough. Each guest joins in on putting a hat on, and you’re glad to see that Toriel could quickly recognize hers, without even looking at the others first.</p><p>Once everyone else is seated, Papyrus stands over the covered platters. You’d heard from him some time ago what his plan was for the food, and if it paid off as well as it sounded, you’re sure he’ll love it.</p><p>“HERE’S YOUR FANTASTIC BIRTHDAY MEAL, BROTHER! I’M SURE YOU’LL FIND IT TO BE… QUITE THE MEAL TO CALL IN THE DOGS FOR!” Pulling off the top of the platter, everyone’s eyes or eye sockets are graced with an assortment of truly beautiful hot-dogs. Papyrus had gotten a top-dog place on the nearby city on the surface to make them, and after a boat ride to Hotland, ran all the way there and back to bring them to the house overnight. Sans doesn’t say a word, or even make his smile grow. He just stares at the ‘dogs with unwavering focus.</p><p>“WELL, WHAT DO YOU THINK?” It takes him a while to say anything, or do anything, for that matter.</p><p>“…beautiful. what’d i do to earn all this grub?”</p><p>“BY BEING YOU!”</p><p>“Papyrus is right, Sans. You have proven to all of us that you are a wonderful companion, and some hot-dogs should do a great job letting you <strong>relish</strong> in that.” You and Sans share a hearty laugh, as you can immediately tell how him and Toriel are buds.</p><p>“thank you so much, bro. best party ever, and it’s only been a whole two minutes. i ain’t gonna be a mus-turd and keep y’all waiting, though. dig in.” A sea of hands frantically grab for whichever ‘dogs they can find. Much like Papyrus and the red cape hero pancake, you let your bonefriend get to whichever ones he wants first, before taking your own. He’s got some great taste; there’s a Chicago ‘dog, a New York ‘dog, and one of those Japanese ‘dogs shaped like an octopus on his plate. There’s still plenty for you and the others to choose from after him, and in mere seconds, everyone has a loaded plate that they’re going to town on.</p><p>“MMMM! I SURE MADE THE RIGHT CALL ON WHERE TO GO. SOGGY BUNS ARE MEDICALLY PROVEN TO MAKE PEOPLE SAD.” Undyne takes the chance to chime in.</p><p>“Well, Sans nearly made them soggy, looked like he was about to cry over them!”</p><p>“hey, if a ‘dog like this was given to ya in your honor, wouldn’t you cry, too?” He sinks a bite of the Chicago ‘dog between his teeth, without a single pepper or onion falling out. You love that he can both smooch and eat without his voice getting interrupted for one second. There’s not much chatter during the chowing down, with Sans apparently not wanting to make the others feel jealous of that power of his. Much like at breakfast, in just a few minutes, the platters have all been emptied.</p><p>It’s then that you feel a burp starting to build up in your throat. You’re not as worried now about what the others will think of you, but at the same time, you don’t want to come off as gross. To meet ends in the middle, you cover your mouth with your elbow and let it out.</p><p>“come on, protag, it’s my birthday, and you’re gonna pull back? ya gotta –<strong>bbrrrrrrruuuuuuup</strong>- do it like that.”</p><p>Guess<em> that</em> wasn’t worth all the thought.</p><p>“SANS! WE HAVE COMPANY!”</p><p>“No, no, he is fine. As a matter of fact, I think we should join him.” After politely wiping around her mouth with a napkin, Toriel lets out a burp of her own. With her large stature, it’s enough to shake the entire table. You can see a fire light in Undyne’s eye from it.</p><p>“That sounds like a challenge!” She lets out a burp of her own, and it’s loud enough to bounce off of the opposing wall. Everyone starts burping out their ‘dog bubbles as noisily as they can, while Papyrus silently watches over the scene that he’s somewhat responsible for.</p><p>“IF THE BURPING’S FINISHED, I THINK IT’S TIME FOR THE CAKE!”</p><p>“the cake? you already got us plenty of pigs in blankets, a cake blanketed in icing’s a lotta food, too.”</p><p>“OH, TRUST ME! YOU’LL FORGET ABOUT YOUR HUNGER BEING FILLED THE MOMENT YOU SEE WHAT IT’S FILLED UP WITH!” Ominous. The details of the cake have been kept a secret to everyone, including yourself, so you’ve got no clue what to expect. Papyrus disappears into the kitchen for a moment, as you all intently wait on whatever the surprise could be. A click of a lighter can be heard (alas, not everyone knows fire magic), and when the clicking ends, he comes in, cake in hand. Without any cue, the rest of you all sing the birthday song with him, pitches ranging from soothing tones to complete screams. Once the serenading’s done, Papyrus sets the cake in front of Sans. You look over at the frosting, and…</p><p>Oh. Oh, if Sans isn’t about to cry from this, you might. The top of the cake holds a pair of upside down hearts, much like the ones you put on the pancake earlier, matching the colors of your soul and his. They’ve been iced over a white vanilla coating with blue and pink lines dashed across, and the candles make up the colors of the rainbow. With heteronormativity not existing in any capacity in the Underground, you figure Papyrus might’ve done that part to get you smiling even bigger; saying you’re gay in the Underground is around the same sort of tier as sharing your favorite color. To cap it off, ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SANS’ has been written out in a cursive font type. As always, he went above and beyond to put this together.</p><p>“DOES IT HIT YOUR UNFANCY, SANS?” Sans silently looks at it in the same sort of way as he did with the ‘dogs, before he drops his left elbow to the table and covers his mouth.</p><p>“…hmm. wonder who <strong>rained</strong> down on the parade to make this happen.” He starts tapping at the rainbow candles with the hand that’d been covering his mouth, and uses the other to pat your shoulder. You can’t help but let out a long giggle.</p><p>“seriously, though, this is such a nice thing ya did. i love everything about it.” Undyne notices something about the cake that no one else is paying attention to.</p><p>“Well, if you love it so much, why aren’t you blowing the candles out? Your rainbow’s gonna be a puddle all over your frosting real soon!”</p><p>“oh. whoops. eh, even if they do melt a bit, it’ll make ‘em more like us.”</p><p>“How so?”</p><p>“do we really look straight to you?” The rest of the table laughs, and you take the chance to live it up and kiss Sans’ hand. His cheeks get as blue as the blue candles.</p><p>“heheh, i getcha, though. lemme think up a wish.” Sans closes his eye sockets and takes a moment to think of something, before blowing through his teeth to drown out all the candle flames. As much as you’d like to ask him what he wished for, you respect the rules of birthdays, and choose not to.</p><p>“wait, i forgot to ask something real important. what kinda cake is it?”</p><p>“HOW ABOUT YOU FIND OUT YOURSELF?” Papyrus slowly hands his older brother a butter knife, which you could cut the tension in the air with. Taking it, Sans pushes down on the cake, cutting a slice and revealing it to be…</p><p>“A KETCHUP CAKE!” Papyrus beams from excitement, as Sans gets a clean look at the bright red that the frosting had been hiding.</p><p>“I FOUND THE RECIPE TOWARDS THE TAILBONE END OF OUR SURFACE YEARS. HOW COULD I NOT MAKE THIS FOR MY KETCHUP ENTHUSIAST?”</p><p>“…oh. oh, man, i… this is beautiful.” Sans pets his slice for a bit, not paying any attention to the glob of frosting he got on his fingers. He sets the slice on his plate, and with the tradition of the birthday person getting their slice first out of the way, everyone helps themselves, until over half the cake’s gone. Sans is the first one to take a bite, and his smile beams from one of his favorite tastes being in such a soft form.</p><p>“delicious.”</p><p>“YIPPEE! A WAY FOR MY BROTHER TO HAVE HIS KETCHUP WITHOUT ANY MESS.”</p><p>“oh, i can totally still make a mess with this.”</p><p>“HOW’S THAT?”</p><p>“forgetting to clean it.” His wink and huge smile are just about too much for your heart to take, and you frantically stuff your mouth with a bite before you end up smooching every bone on his body. The others all help themselves to their slices, too, and they go through them just as quickly as the pancakes and ‘dogs from today said adieu. Everyone else is smiling, so you’re glad to see they’re as comfortable with the idea of filling their taste buds with ketchup as you are. Pretty soon, crumbs are the last friends left for your plates to have.</p><p>“THANK YOU ALL FOR SAVING SOME. ROCKO’S GOING TO WANT SOME CAKE LATER. THEY DON’T EAT AS WELL IN FRONT OF A CROWD.” You can see some visual confusion on Alphys’ face.</p><p>“You know, in all the years I’ve been doing science stuff, I’ve never figured out what makes a rock sentient or not.”</p><p>“hey, you don’t wanna say anything that could get rocko rocked outta shape. they’ll have a huge bag of rocks mailed to your front door before you know it.”</p><p>“…W-wha-”</p><p>“IT’S HAPPENED TWICE. TOOK A LOT OF EXPLAINING FROM US TO SORT IT OUT.” Both of those times must’ve been before you met the bone bros, and you hope it won’t happen again anytime soon. The thought of those rocks being sent to the wrong angry human on the surface isn’t something you want them to have to deal with. Sans wipes some crumbs off his cheek, before speaking up.</p><p>“so, uh, thanks for bein’ here, buds. had no idea such a nice party for existence day would end up existing.” Papyrus can’t hold back a snicker, apparently knowing more about what ‘existence day’ could mean than the others, as Sans continues on.</p><p>“really does mean a lot that i get to see you all again, since we’re not a boat ride away anymore. glad i could show ya how nice things’ve been down here, too. i’ve got my hun right here, and with him around, nothing’s gonna trousle my bones anytime soon.” He takes your hand, drawing an <em>awwww</em> from the little crowd. You’re pretty sure Undyne’s was exaggerated, but there’s still heart behind it.</p><p>“he’s really given me a new spark i needed, to get my skull outta things in the past and let it enjoy today for what today is. he’s thoughtful, caring, a hard worker, cute, and knows a thing or two ‘bout punning it up. all things i really respect, and… heheh… admire.” He squeezes a little tighter, getting your face incredibly red.</p><p>“Sans, I can say all that back to you. I moved down here for a better life, but I couldn’t have imagined meeting a skull as full of warming stuff as yours.” You turn your attention towards the others.</p><p>“And I was really hoping you’d all be happy with our bond, too. You’ve all known Sans a long time, and I can assure you that I’m gonna give him all the love and care in the world. It’s what he deserves.” Toriel’s very pleased to hear this.</p><p>“I am glad, Protag. Your demeanor has been nothing but attentive and caring, and Sans will be very fortunate to always have that with him.”</p><p>“yeah, especially since he’s moving in soon. we’re gonna practice jokes so hard, the whole town’s gonna be lining up outside to hear him.”</p><p>“Nah, you’re the main attraction, you little wordsmith.” You can’t help but give his hand another smooch, and Papyrus takes the chance to wrap his arms around the two of you. Alphys can’t resist capturing the moment, either, so she pulls her phone out and takes a picture.</p><p>“S-sorry! Didn’t wanna invade any privacy, b-but the three of you are so darn cute together. I’ll make sure to send it to all of you!”</p><p>“heheh, thanks. that’ll definitely be a keeper once i get tired of my wallpaper.” Sans’ current ‘wallpaper’ is a bizarre bottle of purple ketchup that he saw on the surface once. He was too awe-struck by it to <em>not</em> make it his wallpaper as a constant reminder. Alphys continues to look at her phone, and notices the time.</p><p>“Uh oh, think we have to go, Undyne. There’s that medical conference this evening.”</p><p>“Ah, yeah, we better get going to that. I need to be on the ready if anyone says a single dumb word. Sorry if we’re cutting anything short, dudes.”</p><p>“nah, you’re fine. we stuffed ourselves with cake, tradition’s been taken care of.” Toriel pulls a sleeve up to take a glimpse at her watch.</p><p>“It is probably time for me to leave, too. My phone hours start soon, and parents will want to know about how their children have done this year.”</p><p>“THE LIFE OF A TEACHER. PROTAG, NO ONE DOES IT BETTER THAN MISS TORIEL DOES. IF I WAS A MOM, I’D DEFINITELY WANT MY KID TO BE TAUGHT BY HER.”</p><p>“Why, thank you.” The three of them get up from the table, knowing it’s fine for them to leave their plates. Papyrus will want to do a pristine job with them himself. You make sure to say some final words before they leave.</p><p>“Thanks for coming, it was great getting to meet all of you!”</p><p>“It was a pleasure, Protag. I hope to see you again sometime soon.”</p><p>“Yeah, you better reach out to us! I’ve gotta make sure I get you two tickets to our first Underground wrestling show!”</p><p>“Ooooh, yeah, you’ll wanna keep reaching her about that. Watching Undyne in the ring is… eheheh, s-something else.”</p><p>“You know it!” Undyne scoops her wife into her arms the same sort of way you scoop up Sans. They head for the door, and Toriel follows in tow.</p><p>“SEE YOU ALL SOON!” They all wave, including Undyne, who holds Alphys in just one arm to wave herself, before they all leave. The house is now a lot quieter.</p><p>“WAS THAT AN IDEAL BIRTHDAY BASH, SANS?”</p><p>“the most bashful bash i can think of, even if i take a blast to the past.”</p><p>“DON’T MAKE ME REGRET I SET ALL THOSE BALLOONS UP. I DIGRESS, THOUGH. IT’S YOUR DAY TO SAY WHATEVER THE HECK YOU WANT.” Blast from the past… oh, geez! It makes you think back as far into the past as yesterday, when you wrapped Sans’ present. You almost forgot to give it to him!</p><p>“Hang on, Sans, I’ve got something for ya.” You run back up to his room, pull a little wrapped box out of your bag, and come back down.</p><p>“Here, for my favorite person’s big day. I promise it’s not a glitter bomb.”</p><p>“what makes ya think i’d think that?” Sans looks back at Papyrus, not forgetting the glitter bomb he got him with years ago.</p><p>“DON’T WORRY, PROTAG. ALL’S BEEN FORGIVEN FROM BACK THEN. I DON’T FIND BITS OF GLITTER IN MY EYE SOCKETS, OR ANYTHING OF THE SORT.”</p><p>“That’s a relief, there’s not much glitz to eye socket pain.” He groans while you and Sans laugh, and before he can go on a joke tangent, Sans begins to open the wrapping paper. Pretty soon, all the paper’s come off, revealing…</p><p>“a dial? am i supposed to  be dialed into something to figure this out?” It’s the kind of dial you’d see on a grill.</p><p>“Follow me.” You exit the house, and Sans follows you without question to the shed. Papyrus stays back in the house; he knows what you got, and wants to leave it as a special moment between the two of you. Before he can go in, you cover his eye sockets with your hands.</p><p>“kidnapping. my favorite gift.”</p><p>“Pfff, this’ll only be a few seconds.” Walking him into the shed, you get him into the perfect position to see his gift, and pull your hands off of his face.</p><p>“Tadaaaa!” It’s a brand new grill! This one’s a much higher end model than his old ‘dog device. The steel’s sleek from top to bottom, and the dials are way more precise than his old one, for precision grilling.</p><p>“Your old grill was getting pretty beat up, and when I saw this one, I couldn’t help it. Does it look like it’ll do the trick?”</p><p>Sans is lost for words. He stares at the grill, not moving a single bone, before turning around and stuffing his skull over your chest, wrapping his arms around you to draw you as tight as he can.</p><p>“stars, i love you, i love you, i love you… it’s gonna make so much easier. and you know what the best part is?”</p><p>“What’s that, hun?”</p><p>“i can think of ya each and every time I use it.”</p><p>He really is the best person on or in the planet. You give a prolonged smooch on the top of his head, before he looks up and meets it with his mouth. Together, you share a happy, loving, passionate moment, letting him drive as tight onto you as he wants.</p><p>Not only did you get all your anxieties over what Sans’ friends would think to go away today, but you got him something he’ll treasure dearly. For a birthday, that sounds nothing short of fantastic.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Stay on the look out for more A Skeleton's Connection stories soon, planning to have the first chapter of another work up on Friday! Thank you very much for reading my story, each bit of response I get to my Sans/Dude work helps keep pushing me to write more. Feel free to leave a comment on what you thought of the story, and take care!</p>
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